Padmal Samarapperuma

Vice President - Strategy & Business Planning Coca‑Cola India and South West Asia

Padmal Samarapperuma is Head of Strategy & Business Planning at Coca‑Cola India & South West Asia. In his current role, Padmal is responsible for devising, communicating, executing, and sustaining corporate strategic initiatives for the growth and sustenance of the Company. Having worked across diverse business functions such as finance, audit and procurement, Padmal has the right business acumen to help the Company achieve higher standards of performance.

Padmal has 24 years of experience, of which 18+ years have been within the Coca‑Cola system. He joined the Company in 2003 with our Bottling operation in Sri Lanka where he held varied roles in finance and finally the role of Financial Controller.

Padmal eventually moved to Cambodia in 2008 and took over as Chief Financial Officer of Coca‑Cola Cambodia. He then relocated to Vietnam in May 2013 for a 5-year stint as Procurement Director of BIG Indochina and then Chief Financial Officer of BIG Vietnam.

During this tenure he held multiple leadership positions in Finance and Procurement and his in-depth knowledge and experience of Commercial and Treasury, helped deliver consistent results, on profits and margin transformation as well as business expansion across operations in Vietnam, Cambodia and Sri Lanka.

Before moving to India, he was the Strategic & Business Planning Director of Bottling Investments Group - Singapore (+2 years) where he was instrumental in transitioning the BIG corporate office from Atlanta to Singapore, as a key member of the leadership team. Playing a crucial role in systemizing the business planning processes, he was integral in  driving growth and results, including improved margins.

Before joining the system, Padmal was associated with a hospitality management industry and financial services.

He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka and a Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing from Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM-UK). He is also a member of Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA-UK) and a member of Certified Management Accountants (CMA -Australia).

Padmal has a young son, with whom he loves to spend his spare time. He is a sports enthusiast and enjoys soccer, cricket, rugby. He loves music and travelling.